A smart card is a relatively small (typically pocket-sized) card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) that includes a digital storage array (a memory) and a processor. A smart card typically is used for storing data securely. In the context of mobile phone technology, data used for uniquely identifying a mobile phone subscriber to an associated Mobile Network Operator (MNO) is commonly secured (encrypted). The data stored in a smart card, which may be a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, also defines to which types of services a subscriber is entitled. A SIM card is a special kind of smart card that is used with the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology.
Because of the small size of mobile telephones and SIM cards, extraction of a SIM card from a mobile phone can be difficult. In part, this is due to the SIM card socket design not being so conducive to the occasional need to extract SIM cards from mobile telephones. Also adding to the difficulty is that the surface of a SIM card is usually smooth and slippery.
Some mobile telephone models, for example, NEC 341i and Nokia 6680, include a SIM card socket that facilitates extraction of SIM cards. However, in other mobile telephone models, for example, SAGEM my700x, Sony Ericsson K600i, and Nokia 7260, extracting a SIM card from a socket is not as easy. Some of the SIM card sockets that facilitate extraction of SIM cards include moving parts, which render them more expensive. If a mobile telephone has a SIM card socket with moving parts, extra space must be dedicated to allow the moving parts to freely move inside the mobile telephone.
To make many types of mobile telephones operational, a SIM card with proper data must be plugged into a designated socket. FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile telephone 30 with a socket 33 having a conventional SIM card 36 inserted therein. The user of mobile telephone 30 may want to remove or extract SIM card 36 from SIM card socket 33 for various reasons, such as to transfer the SIM card to another mobile telephone or to switch a SIM card when s/he travels to another country serviced by a different MNO.
To extract SIM card 36, the user typically has to press down the SIM card surface and apply a substantially shearing force in a direction parallel to the card surface in an extracting direction 37. However, many conventional SIM cards have smooth or slippery surfaces, so it is difficult to extract them from their sockets. Thus, a need exists for modifying prior art SIM cards to facilitate their extraction from mobile telephones that do not have the more expensive and larger sockets with moving extraction mechanisms.
The present disclosure uses the terms “structural deviation”, “SIM card” and “appendage”. In the context of the present disclosure these terms are understood as follows:
The term “structural deviation” references a deviation in the plane of at least one of the (traditionally flat and smooth) sides of the enclosure of a smart card or SIM card. A structural deviation may have different roughness and other physical characteristics, as exemplified below, to make the structural deviation engageable by an appendage to enable the extraction of a smart card or SIM card from a socket or from a mobile telephone.
The term “structural deviation” in the context of the present disclosure does not reference deviations that may have been unintentionally formed in the smart card or SIM card, nor does the term reference the “notch” in the card's otherwise rectangular shape that effectively removes a corner of the rectangle.
Regarding the term “SIM card,” in addition to the ordinary meaning in the technical field to which the invention generally pertains, the term also references high-capacity storage SIM cards and smart cards that resemble or function like a SIM card. SIM cards typically have the form factor of ID-000 format. However, the present invention can be generalized to other form factors.
The term “appendage” references any object that can engage a structural deviation. Exemplary appendages include pencils, pens, fingers and fingernails.